Guy Vander Jagt
Guy Vander Jagt died this morning at a hospice in Washington, DC. You can read the obituary prepared by his family here.
I first went to work for Guy in 1982 as the press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee after a two-year turn with Congressman, then Senator, Dan Quayle.
Over the next quarter century our paths crossed many times including one memorable period when he asked me to come to Western Michigan to run his campaign for re-election.
I managed him right into retirement by losing the primary to current Congressman Pete Hoeskstra.
On election night the first returns came in from, I think, Cadillac, Michigan. We should have won that area by a 2-1 margin. Instead we won with a bare majority.
I told his chief-of-staff and we called Guy away from the "victory" party and told him that if we were this close in our strongest area, it was likely he was going to lose as results came in from Holland, Michigan - Pete's home area.
This is classic Vander Jagt: The local TV station was watching the returns - which had Vander Jagt head, remember - and in an on-the-air interview the reporter congratulated Guy on having won an apparent victory.
Guy gently corrected the reporter and said that he was - right at that second, hours before the final returns and maybe before even Hoesktra's campaign knew they were going to win - on the air, Vander Jagt endorsed Pete Hoekstra for the seat Guy had just lost.
Vander Jagt was the last of the great orators. His deep booming voice captured audiences from local political events to the Key Note Address at the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit.
Guy died this morning after a long fight with pancreatic cancer.
I'm sorry he's gone. I'm happy he's at peace.
I first went to work for Guy in 1982 as the press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee after a two-year turn with Congressman, then Senator, Dan Quayle.
Over the next quarter century our paths crossed many times including one memorable period when he asked me to come to Western Michigan to run his campaign for re-election.
I managed him right into retirement by losing the primary to current Congressman Pete Hoeskstra.
On election night the first returns came in from, I think, Cadillac, Michigan. We should have won that area by a 2-1 margin. Instead we won with a bare majority.
I told his chief-of-staff and we called Guy away from the "victory" party and told him that if we were this close in our strongest area, it was likely he was going to lose as results came in from Holland, Michigan - Pete's home area.
This is classic Vander Jagt: The local TV station was watching the returns - which had Vander Jagt head, remember - and in an on-the-air interview the reporter congratulated Guy on having won an apparent victory.
Guy gently corrected the reporter and said that he was - right at that second, hours before the final returns and maybe before even Hoesktra's campaign knew they were going to win - on the air, Vander Jagt endorsed Pete Hoekstra for the seat Guy had just lost.
Vander Jagt was the last of the great orators. His deep booming voice captured audiences from local political events to the Key Note Address at the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit.
Guy died this morning after a long fight with pancreatic cancer.
I'm sorry he's gone. I'm happy he's at peace.
posted by Rich Galen | 6:07 AM
4 Comments:
Rich, please be sure to announce when the memorial service is scheduled. I'm sure many of the old NRCC alums will want to attend.
David Himes
Hey, David.
The funeral will be held this Thursday at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
The details of a Washington service are being worked out.
Rich
Rich:
I proceeded you at the NRCC, having worked there from '77 thru '80. Guy was a great leader who worked tirelessly to elect the good guys! He will be missed. Condolences to Carole and the family. Any other news on the DC service?
Sky
I worked for Guy in his D.C. office from about '73 - 85. He was a great speaker. I heard that he lost in the primary because the good folks back in the 9th District finally found out about his mistress? Not a good thing for a Yale Divenity grad.
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